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Mirror Of The Blessed Virgin Mary by Saint Bonaventure
CHAPTER XV
MARY IS BLESSED BY THE SEVEN VIRTUES AGAINST THE
SEVEN CAPITAL VICES
Blessed art thou among women. Let us still speak of the blessing of our
Blessed Virgin, let us still hear of it. Happy is the Blessed Mary; unhappy
is every accursed soul to whom it shall be said: "Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire!" Cursed without doubt is every sinful soul,
but blessed art thou, O virtuous Mary. The world incurred malediction by
the seven capital vices; but Mary obtained blessing by the contrary
virtues. Blessed, therefore, art thou among women, O Mary. Blessed by
humility against pride, by charity against envy, by meekness against anger,
by diligence against sloth, by temperance against gluttony, by chastity
against lust.
First let us hear how Mary is blessed by humility against pride. For the
proud are accursed, as it is written: "Thou hast rebuked the proud; cursed
are they who decline from thy ways." Against this curse of pride Mary
obtained the blessing of humility. Thus she may be signified by that valley
of which it is said in Paralipomenon: "They called that place the valley of
blessing" (2 Paralip. XX, 6.) If every humble soul is, as it were, a valley
of God, according to that word of Isaias, "Every valley shall be filled,"
how much more was Mary a valley, who was so deep in humility! What wonder
if she were the valley of valleys, who was the most humble of the humble?
Oh, how greatly is this blessed valley exalted with blessings for her
humility, so deep, so useful, so pleasing! St. Augustine says: "O truly
blessed humility of Mary, who brought forth the Lord to men, gave life to
mortals, renewed the heavens, purified the world, opened paradise, and
delivered the souls of men from hell." The deeper a valley is, the more is
it a receptacle for waters; so was Mary for graces. A valley receives
irrigation by waters, sometimes from above, sometimes from below; from
above, when the rains flow down from the mountains; from below, when there
are springs of water in it. In like manner the humble Mary received waters,
as it were, both from above and from below; she was, as it were, irrigated
from a mountain and from a spring, when from the divine and from the human
nature of her Son so great a blessing of graces was poured into her. This
is that blessing of which we read in the Book of Judges, when Axa said to
her father: "Give me a blessing." Her father gave her a place well watered
from above and from below. Axa was a type of Mary, who received a well-
watered blessing from the heavenly Father. For God the Father gave her a
blessing from above in the divinity of Christ, and from below in His
humanity; again from above in her mind, and from below in her womb; from
above in her charity to God, from below in her love for her neighbor; again
from above in contemplation, from below, in action. Or the heavenly Father
gave her an ineffable blessing, from above in Heaven, from below on earth,
that in Heaven she might possess the blessing of glory, and on earth that
of grace; and thus be blessed both in Heaven and on earth, according to
what St. Bernard intimates when he says: "Remember, O Mary, that Christ
bore the malediction of the cross, who blessed thee, His Mother, in Heaven.
But thou wert blessed also on earth by the Angel, and art rightly called
blessed on earth by all generations."
Secondly, let us hear how Mary is blessed for charity against envy. The
envious are accursed, as it is said of the envious Cain: "Cursed art thou
upon earth, which has opened its mouth, and received the blood of thy
brother from thy hand." Against the curse of envy, Mary has received the
blessing of charity. She may well, therefore, be signified by Sara, of whom
the Lord said: "I will bless her, and out of her I will give thee a son,
whom I will bless" (Gen. XVII, 16.) Sara is interpreted as "coal." This is
well suited to Mary, who, like a coal, was on fire with the ardor of
charity. Therefore, the burning bush is a fit figure of Mary, by whom the
blessing of grace is ministered to every faithful soul. It is said in
Deuteronomy: "The blessing of him, who appeared in the bush, may it come
upon the head of Joseph." Joseph is interpreted as "increase," and
signifies every faithful soul enriched by divine grace. Blessed is the
bush, and blessed is He who by His Incarnation appeared in the bush, by
whom so great a blessing came upon the faithful. O truly blessed coal,
producing so blessed a flame, blessed Mary bringing forth so blessed a
Child. "From her," saith the Lord, "I will give thee a son, whom I will
bless" (Gen. XVII, 16.) Think, therefore, what great charity Mary had
towards God, when God is her Son according to the flesh. Think also what
charity she had towards her neighbor, when the good neighbor is spiritually
her son. And if we are her sons, we are the brethren of her Son. Well,
therefore, doth St. Anselm say of this blessed Mother: "O blessed and
exalted one, not for thyself alone, but also for us, what is it, how great
is it, how lovable, what we see happening by thee for us, which, seeing, I
rejoice, which, rejoicing, I dare not utter ? For if thou, O Lady, art the
Mother of God, are not thy other sons the brethren of God?"
Thirdly, hear how Mary is blessed for her meekness and gentleness against
anger. For the angry are accursed, as it is written in Genesis: "Cursed be
their fury, for it was stubborn: and their wrath, because it was cruel"
(Gen. XLIX, 7.) Against this curse of wrath, Mary obtained the blessing of
meekness. For truly her meekness was such that not only had she no anger of
her own, but she even turned the anger of God to meekness. Therefore, she
is well signified by Abigail, to whom David said: "Blessed be thy speech,
and blessed be thou, who hast kept me to-day from coming to blood and
revenging me with my own hand" (I Kings XXV, 32.) It is the property of
meekness to soothe with kind words the anger of those who are offended,
according to that word of Proverbs: "A mild word turneth away anger" (Prov.
XV, 1.) The meek Abigail signifies the meek Mary. Do you wish to know how
meek Mary was? Listen to St. Bernard: "Turn over," he says, "diligently in
your mind the whole of the Gospel story, and if you note in Mary anything
of rebuke, anything hard, or even the slightest sign of indignation, you
may perhaps suspect her in other things, and fear to approach her. But if
you find that in all things she was rather full of grace and loving
kindness, full of meekness and mercy, give thanks to Him who with such kind
compassion has provided thee with such a mediatrix, in whom thou hast
nothing to fear." David signifies Christ, who by Mary's meekness is soothed
and placated, lest He should take vengeance on the sinner by eternal death.
Let every soul in danger of eternal death never cease to sigh to Mary in
her great meekness, for which she is rightly so blessed. I say, therefore:
Let every soul about to die say with St. Anselm: "O thou blessed above
women, who conquerest the angels by thy purity, surpassest the Saints by
thy loving kindness, let my dying soul sigh at the sight of such great
kindness; but let it blush at such resplendent whiteness."
Fourthly, hear how Mary is blessed by her diligence against sloth. For the
slothful are accursed, because they do not do the work of God faithfully
and earnestly. Jeremias says: "Cursed is he who doth the work of God
negligently." Against the curse of torpor, Mary deserted the blessing of
earnestness. For she may be signified by that Jahel, who killed Sisara with
a nail. Therefore, in the Book of Judges it says: "Blessed is Jahel among
women." Jahel is interpreted as "going up," which suits Mary, who did not,
like the slothful, go down, but most earnestly always ascended from virtue
to virtue, from a lower to a higher grade, according to that word of the
Canticle: "Who is this who cometh up from the desert, like a rod of
incense?" What has this blessed Jahel done? She killed Sisara with a nail.
Sisara is interpreted as "the shutting out of joy," and well does this
signify the devil, because he himself, being shut out from eternal joy,
tries also to keep others out of it. Alas, yes, by means of the first
mother of the human race he excluded all of us, and the curse of this
exclusion was lifted by the Mother of our Savior. Well, therefore, does the
Venerable Bede say: "Blessed art thou among women, by whose virginal
bringing forth the curse of the first mother was excluded from those born
of women." But what is signified by the nail wherewith the head of Sisara
was pierced? What is this nail but severity of discipline? What is
strictness of life to the lazy, but a sort of nail through the eyes ?
Strictness of discipline is, as it were, a nail painfully transfixing the
devil, and sharply wounding him. The blessed Jahel, therefore, pierced the
head of Sisara with that deathdealing nail, while the blessed Mary
extinguished in herself the strength of Satan by strictness of discipline.
Blessed, therefore, is Jahel among women, blessed is Mary among women.
Among which women ? Listen to Bede, who says: "Not only art thou blessed
among women, but among women who are blessed thou art eminent by a greater
blessing."
Fifthly, hear how blessed is Mary by her liberality against avarice. For
the avaricious are accursed, as St. Peter says: "Having their heart
exercised with covetousness, children of malediction" (2 Pet. II, 14. )
Against this curse of avarice, Mary merited the blessing of generosity and
profusion. For she was like a fountain ever flowing and ever giving, and
therefore was truly blessed, according to that word: "Let thy vein be
blessed" (Prov. V, 18.) In temporal things Mary, that vein, was more than
generous, because she generously and liberally despised all things.
Therefore, according to Haymon, the Blessed Mother of God had the moon
beneath her feet because she despised all temporal things. Oh, how great
graces have flowed on to men by means of this vein I Therefore, O Church,
thy vein be blessed, by whom so great good gifts have come to thee. Truly a
noble vein, a vein full of the Holy Ghost, a vein the fountain of life;
Mary is to us a vein of salvation. For by this vein Christ, the fountain of
life, came to us, and by this vein we come to Jesus Christ, who is the
fountain of life; truly, therefore, is it blessed. St. Bernard says: "By
thee, O blessed finder of grace, we have access to God, Mother of life,
Mother of salvation, that by thee He may receive us, who by thee was given
to us."
Sixthly, hear how Mary is blessed by temperance against gluttony. For the
gluttons are accursed, as it appears in the greediness of our first
parents, for which both they and the whole human race incurred a curse.
Against this curse of gluttony Mary obtained the blessing of abstinence and
of every kind of temperance. Rightly indeed, in opposition to the curses of
gluttony in the material paradise, did the blessings of temperance abound
in the spiritual paradise, according to that word of Ecclesiasticus: "Grace
is like paradise in blessings." So great an abundance of grace was in Mary
that she, the gracious Virgin, might almost be called grace itself. This
grace, that is, the most gracious Virgin Mary, was as a paradise in
blessings. For as in the material paradise the gluttony of Eve merited the
curses of punishments, so in the spiritual paradise the temperance of Mary
merited the blessings of graces. Therefore Augustine says: "The curse of
Eve was turned into the blessing of Mary." As the gluttony of Eve brought
forth a curse not only in the body, but also in the soul, so Mary obtained
for us a blessing not only in the body, but also in the soul; not a
spiritual blessing alone, but likewise a corporeal one. The malediction of
the greedy Eve was to bring forth in pain; the blessing of the temperate
Mary was to bring forth without pain, as St. Bernard says: "Blessed art
thou among women, thou who hast escaped that general curse, in which it is
said: 'In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children,' and yet at the same time
too that other, 'Cursed is the sterile in Israel'; and thou hast obtained a
singular blessing, that thou shouldst neither remain sterile nor bring
forth in sorrow."
Seventhly, let us hear how Mary is blessed by her chastity against lust. To
the lustful it is said: "Cursed is he who shall sleep with the wife of his
neighbor; and all the people shall say, Amen." Against this curse of
incontinence, Mary merited the blessing of continence, as it may be
signified in the Book of Judith, where we read: "They all blessed her with
one voice, saying: Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of
Israel, thou art the honor of our people: for thou hast done manfully, and
thy heart has been strengthened because thou hast loved chastity, and after
thy husband hast not known any other: therefore also the hand of the Lord
hath strengthened thee, and therefore thou shalt be blessed for ever"
(Judith XV, 10 f.)
In this blessing of the chaste Judith, the blessing of Mary may not only be
signified, but by this passage we may pass to a higher conclusion. If such
was the blessing of a chaste widow, how much more will be that of a chaste
virgin? And above all, of such a virgin as merited to bring forth God, and
to do this in such a manner as not to lose her virginity. Well therefore
doth Bede say: "She is incomparably blessed, who both received the glory of
the divine seed, and kept the crown of virginity." Note, however, that in
Scripture we find a blessed wife, a blessed widow, and a blessed virgin.
The blessed wife was Sara, of whom it is said in Tobias: "A blessing was
pronounced over the wife of Tobias." The blessed widow was Judith, as we
have pointed out. Of a blessed widow it is also said in the Psalm:
"Blessing I will bless his widow." And the Blessed virgin was Mary, as the
Angel testifies, saying: "Blessed art thou among women." She is blessed,
therefore, because she was a wife; she is more blessed because she was a
widow; she is blessed above all those who loved virginal chastity. She is
blessed without doubt, who, like Sara and Susanna, was chaste in wedlock;
she is more blessed, who, like Judith and Anna, was a chaste widow; she is
blessed above all, who with Mary shall have been chaste as a virgin.
Therefore St. Augustine says: "We praise Susanna as a model of conjugal
chastity; but we prefer before her the virtue of the widow Anna, and much
more that of the Virgin Mary." This is truly meet and just. It is just that
she should be blessed who had known no other man than her husband; it is
more just that she should be blessed who neither during her husband's life-
time nor after his death had known any man. It is meet and just that she
should be blessed above all who neither knew her own, nor any other man,
yet conceived a Man so supreme. Therefore St. Augustine exclaims: "O woman
blessed above women, who knew no man, yet encompassed a man in her womb!"
Thus, therefore, was Mary deservedly blessed for her humility, for her
charity, for her meekness, for her diligence, for her liberality, for her
sobriety, for her chastity; she who was most excellent in humility, most
rich in charity, most patient in meekness, most fervent in diligence, most
temperate in sobriety, most continent in virginity. Thus, therefore, thou
who art so manifoldly blessed, thou more than blessed Mary, let us pray
that by thy blessing thou mayest free us wretched ones from every curse,
and mayest make us worthy of the divine blessing, through Our Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen.
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